Health promotion and work: prevention of shift work disorders in companies

Abstract

Workplace health promotion is a strategy to improve the health and well-being of people at work. The measures aim at the personal, organisational and work environment. Shift work is one of many reasons provoking increased job stress. According to worldwide epidemiological data, up to 30% of the working population are employed in shifts. Taking into consideration that shift work causes a large number of somatic and psychiatric diseases which bear considerable negative consequences for the health status and the quality of life, it seems to be important to initiate health promotion strategies for shift workers in the companies. The results of recent studies indicate that well-scheduled und targeted health programmes can change the lifestyle of shift working employees and have an impact on the risk factors involved. One problem, though, is a considerable time lag till effects become apparent; therefore, the long-term economic effects of workplace health promotion have not been evaluated sufficiently to date. These definitely positive effects highlight the demand for trainings and workshops for people in shift work. We urgently suggest a speedy implementation of the recommended strategies by companies with shift work systems. In our view, this poses a challenge to the “infant” interdisciplinary field of sleep medicine that should be solved.

Do sleep disturbances mediate the association between work‐family conflict and depressive symptoms among nurses? A cross‐sectional study

“…Healthcare organizations can use the study findings to inform organizational initiatives to provide mental health services to nurses. For example, similar to other shift workers, employee assistance programmes should include sleep health education, evaluation, and training for employees, and sleep disorders screening and sleep wellness should be an integral part of employee health services (Barger et al., ; Rajaratnam et al., ; Richter, Acker, Scholz, & Niklewski, . Nursing management should be actively involved in the process of recognizing sleep as an important factor in mental health among nurses and providing screening, education and advice.…”

“…This cross-sectional study identified sleep disturbances as a partial mediator in the association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among nurses. Future interventions to promote healthy sleep practices should be evaluated for their effectiveness in addressing the impact of work-family conflict on the mental health of nurses.Healthcare organizations can use the study findings to inform organizational initiatives to provide mental health services to nurses.For example, similar to other shift workers, employee assistance programmes should include sleep health education, evaluation, and training for employees, and sleep disorders screening and sleep wellness should be an integral part of employee health services(Barger et al, 2016;Rajaratnam et al, 2011;Richter, Acker, Scholz, & Niklewski, 2010. Nursing management should be actively involved in the process of recognizing sleep as an important factor in mental health among nurses and providing screening, education and advice.…”

Arbeit zur falschen Zeit am falschen Platz? Eine Matching-Analyse zu gesundheitlichen Beanspruchungen bei Schicht- und Nachtarbeit

“…(Beermann 2010;Knauth 1993;Wedderburn 2000). Derartige Gestaltungshinweise sind der gesundheitlichen Vorsorge dienlich, zumal sie nicht allein auf Verhaltensänderungen von Beschäftig-ten vertrauen (Richter et al 2010) …”

Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije / Health of the Working-Age Population

“…Therefore, health promotion is becoming an important strategy of many companies. The effort is to integrate targeted programs to change workers lifestyles and thus prevent the negative influence of risk factors (Richter et al, 2010). There is a growing need to integrate and implement workshops of healthy lifestyle in the healthcare sector/organizations.…”